News

Public colleges and universities don’t receive the bailout they sought in the governor’s plan and K-12 schools would see a scaling back of a planned funding expansion

Senate Democrats are once again hoping to expand the state’s paid sick leave program to cover more workers during the upcoming legislative session.

Gov. Ned Lamont said he doesn’t intend to offer any more tax breaks this year, after the historic tax cuts adopted last year, but House Republicans believe there’s enough revenue to reduce taxes and make permanent some other fiscal policies.

Boxed in by a budget that embraces the fiscal guardrails put in place before he was elected, Gov. Ned Lamont will tinker around the edges when it comes to adjusting the two-year budget.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced today his intention to recommend the elimination of licensure application fees for certain essential fields, as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget adjustment proposal.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed a new law that expands the circumstances in which workers can use state-mandated paid sick leave, effective October 1, 2023. The Connecticut Paid Sick Leave Law, originally passed in 2012, provides “service workers” with certain leave entitlements, including paid sick leave. This leave accrues at a rate of one hour for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum accrual of 40 hours per year. The law also requires service workers be permitted to roll over at least 40 hours of accrued, unused paid sick leave per calendar year.

On Feb. 7, the Connecticut General Assembly will convene for its 2024 legislative session. Its constitutional adjournment deadline is no later than midnight May 6. The sessions last three months in even-numbered years and five in odd-numbered years.

Legislators and advocates instead plan a ‘chip away’ approach to address some of Connecticut’s pressing housing issues

The General Assembly is giving up on a special legislative session to address how to keep Connecticut committed to a transition to electric vehicles, leaving the issue for consideration in the regular session that opens on Feb. 7.

Gov. Lamont to meet with critical players on proposal to phase out sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

It’s just 13 weeks long, but Connecticut’s legislative session will be packed with debate over issues that impact a number of residents from housing and health insurance to voting security.

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, an employee’s receipt of severance pay will now result in disqualification from receiving unemployment compensation benefits for the period of time covered by the payment.

The average small business loan interest rates range from 5% to more than 11%. High-interest rates and limitations on traditional loans can impede small business owners’ ability to borrow money to reinvest in or expand their businesses. Supported by the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD), the Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund is focused on helping small businesses and nonprofits thrive. This low interest, fixed 4.5%, loan program provides access to flexible funding for capital expenditures and working capital and connects business owners with free support services. Supported by the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD), the Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund is focused on helping small businesses and nonprofits thrive. This low interest, fixed 4.5%, loan program provides access to flexible funding for capital expenditures and working capital and connects business owners with free support services.

CT repaid $1.2 B borrowed during pandemic to pay jobless benefits.

Connecticut has passed four directives regarding CPA Exam credit retention.

Mark Boughton, commissioner of the state Department of Revenue Services, described a new effort to formulate CT's first-ever long-term tax strategy recently at a forum in Hartford sponsored by the Yankee Institute.

For Connecticut Public Charity registrations originally due after July 1, 2023, Connecticut Public Acts 23-99 and P.A. 23-98, effectively raise the audit threshold for charitable organizations (subject to registration) to gross revenues greater than $1,000,000 and allows for an audit or review for organizations with gross revenues between $500,001 and $1,000,000. Gross revenue is calculated excluding grants or fees from government agencies or revenue from funds held in trust for the benefit of the organization. Public Acts 23-98 and 99 state that, “For a financial statement [i.e., a charitable registration] that is initially due after July 1, 2023, a charitable organization shall include with the charitable organization's financial statement (A) an attestation that an audit report has been completed by a certified public accountant if the charitable organization had gross revenue in excess of one million dollars in the year covered by such report, or (B) an attestation that an audit or review report has been completed by a certified public accountant if the charitable organization had gross revenue in excess of five hundred thousand dollars but not more than one million dollars in the year covered by such report.” With the law effective July 1, 2023, the new provision generally applies to each Connecticut charitable organization subject to registration with a fiscal year ending August 31, 2022 or later. CPAs should consider alerting their not-for-profit clients of the new requirements. The chart below refers to the financial documents required for renewal applications.

This spring the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) announced an amendment to the Uniform Accountancy Act Model Rules that extends the CPA Exam testing window from 18 months to 30 months. This means that individuals will now have 30 months from receiving their first CPA Exam section passing score to successfully pass the remaining sections.

Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo is warning Connecticut employers and residents of an uptick in unemployment benefits fraud due to identity theft. Connecticut is among states being targeted by criminals who are flooding the unemployment system using stolen identities to file for benefits. During the pandemic, stolen identities were available on the dark web for about one dollar. Criminals are still mining this resource to purchase names, Social Security Numbers, birth dates, and other personal information that they use to apply for credit cards, bank loans, and unemployment benefits. Connecticut’s unemployment system is currently receiving several thousand claims per day; CTDOL suspects around 75% are fraudulent and is withholding payment.

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed into law legislation approved by the Connecticut General Assembly during the recently adjourned session that requires students to complete a half-credit course in personal financial management and financial literacy in order to graduate from Connecticut public high schools. It also adds personal financial management and financial literacy to the state’s required program of instruction for public schools.